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VELOGIPEDB.

No. 355,324. Patented Jan.. 4,"1881 nunnnmnmunnunnnnmw '4.

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` VBLOGIPBDB. No. 355,324.

Patente'd Jan. 4, 1887.

ne nl FIG -V- 'Nrrnn STATES ArnNgr .Finca `CAMILLO KRAMER, OF ALBANY,NEV YORK.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,324, dated January4, 1887.

a Application filed October 1Q, 1886. Serial No. 216,011. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CAMILLO KRAMER, of Albany, in the county of Albanyand State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inVelocipedes and Similar Vehicles, which improvement is fully set forthin the following specification.

. This invention has reference more particularly to vehicles of thevelocipede class, which are propelled by the person or persons ridingthereon. As commonly constructed, bicycles, tricycles, and like vehiclesare constructed to be propelled by the motion of the riders legs, thoughsome vehicles of this class are worked by the riders arms.

It has been proposed heretofore to derive the power for propelling thevehicle from the motion of the riders body, and attempts have been madeto construct vehicles on this principle. Velocipedes for children havingthe design of a hobby-horse have been made or proposed, the body of thehorse being hinged at one end to the frame, so as to be capable ofoscillating up and down, and the drivingwheels being connected with thebody by means of cranks and connecting-rods or other operatingmechanism. Such a vehicle is n ot suitable for practical use, as it canonly be propelled with extreme difficulty and by violent exertion. Themotion of the oscillating part is very irregular and jerky. The weightbeing all on one side-of the center of oscillation, the downward motionis performed very easily, while the upward motion, in which it isrequired to raise all the weight of the rider and that of the seat, isaccomplished very slowly and with great difficulty. It has been proposedheretofore to overcome this difficulty by constructing and mounting theseat in such manner that its oscillation is approximately horizontal,and it is to velocipedes of this latter construction that the presentinvention more particularly relates.

The object of the presentpinvention is the.

construction of an entirely .practical road-vehicle which shall receiveits motion from the rocking or swaying of the chair or saddle upon whichthe rider sits, and in which the motion of the seat shall be'even anduniform.

According to t-he present invention the seat is so constructed andsupported that its motion is back and fort-h instead of up anddown-'thatis to say, the chord of the arc through which the seat moves ishorizontal instead of vertical, or nearly so. some distance above thecenter of/oscillation, which diminishes the difficulty of operating thedevice. It is immaterialgwhether the seat be pivoted to the frame ormounted thereon by rockers like those of a rocking-chair. Preferably theseat is adjustably secured tothe frame, so that it can be moved up anddown, as desired. It may be in the form of a chair or saddle, or ofother form, and adapted for one or for any greater number of persons.The seat may be connected with the driving-shaft by cranks andconnection-rods or by other suitable means. Preferably l employ tootheddriving-bars, which engage a toothed or The scat may be supported on twocenters of oscillation instead of on a single one. The seat can in thiscase be made of any desired length, to hold two or more persons, onebehind the other, in a straddling position; or several chairs may becarried by an oscillating frame so supported. In this case, moreover,the seat does not tilt, but is always kept horizontal.

The invention includes certain other new features and combinations ofparts, as here'- inafter set forth.

I have found in practice that avehicle constructed in accordance with myinvention can be driven at a good speed with little difficulty orfatigue. It is, moreover, suitable for persons who cannot or do not wishto use an ordinary bicycle or trieycle.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a side view of a tricycleconstructed in accordance with the invention, one of the drivingwheelsbeing removed. Fig. I-I is a partial plan view ot' the vehicle shown inFig. I, the

The seat,n1oreover,is supported structure. Fig. IV is a detail of thedriving shaft, showing device for locking'the wheel to the shaft; andFigs. V and VI are details showing the construction of theaxle-bearings.

The frame-work 2 of the vehicle is formed of iron castings of suitableshape to support the working parts. To this frame are pivoted thestandards or uprights 3 of the seat or chair 4 by means of the rod orbolt 5. There are several holes, 6, one above the other, in the framefor the insertion of bolt 5, so that the standards can be raised orlowered to adjust the chair to the desired height. The chair 4 canoscillate freely on the bolt 5 as a center. Just beneath the chair isanother bolt or rod, 7, which passes loosely through the end of adriving rod or pitman, 8, connected at its other end with the crank 9 onthe drivingshaft 10.

Around the sides of the frame is a platform, 11, which serves as afoot-rest, and also aids in mounting. This platform is preferably anopen-work casting, which is light, and at the same time affords a firmfoothold.

The steering-rod 12 has a handle, 13, somewhat ring-shaped, so that itcan be steered with one hand. As shown, there are two drivinglwheels andone steering-wheel; but of course there may be two steering-wheels andone driving-wheel.

In operation, the rider braces himself firmly with his hands and feetand sways the body backward and forward, the movement of the seat beingcommunicated to the driving-wheels 14 through the rod or pitman 8 andcrank 9. The motion is nearly horizontal, and is first to one side andthen the other of the center of oscillation. By this construction thevehicle can be driven with ease and regularity. rIo assist the forwardmovement, which is somewhat more difficult than the backward movement, aspring, l5, is secured to the frame', and bears at its free end againstthe seat 4.

Between the frame 2v and a collar on the steering-rod is a spring, 16,which may be rubber or a spiral spring. A set-screw, 17, is provided atthis part to fix the rod in one position, to steer a straight course ora circular one of any radius.

In addition to the adjustable connection between the seat and frame, thepitman 8 is adjustably secured to the crank 9. The pitman is provided,near its end, with a number of grooves, 24, and the crank may passthrough any one of these, being held therein by the flat spring 23. Tolengthen or shorten the pitman, the spring is depressed and the crankplaced in one of the other grooves.

In Fig. III the seat is supported on two axes instead of one, therebeing four uprights or standards, 3, two on each side. These standardsare adjustably connected to the frame, as before. By this means it ispossible to mount several seats or saddles, one behind the other, on theoscillating frame, the foot-rest or platform l1 extending around thesides of the frame, so as to furnish asupport and brace for the feet ofseveral persons. Moreover, it is obvious that a seat mounted on anoscillating frame having two axes in different vertical planes alwaysmaintains a position parallel to the surface of the ground.

Instead of cranks and connectiourods, as in Figs. I and II, the vehicleis propelled by two driving rods or bars, 20, which are connectedloosely at their upper ends to the oscillating frame ofthe seat 4. Theserods 20 are toothed at their lower ends and engage withatoothed orratchet wheel, 21, on the driving-shaft 10. The driving-rods 20 are heldin engagement with the wheel 2l by the spring 22, the effective pressureof which can be increased or diminished by moving it toward or away fromthe wheel 21. When' the seat4 rocks forward, the teeth on the upper rodengage the wheel 21, rotating the shaft 10, and the teeth 'on the lowerrod slip over those of the wheel, the rod being permitted by spring 22to yield suiciently. When the seat moves backward, the lower rod engagesthe wheel and rotatesthe shaft. In this connection there are no dead`centers. The rider can make as long or as short a movement as hechooses,and is not limited to a path of fixed length. Moreover, by aforcible mot-ion the vehicle can be given an impetus and then allowed torun by its own momentum, the chair being stationary, and in runningdownhill the rider can sit motionless. With the crankconnecti0n thechair and rider must, of course, always follow the motion of the cranks.The rods 20 are adjustably connected to the bolts `7 by means of thespring 23 and grooves 24 in the rod, the connection being similar tothat of the driving-rod and crank in Fig. I.

Referring to Fig. IV, the driving-wheel14 is detachably secured to theshaft 10 by the device 25, which consists of a nut and handle in onepiece. Ordinarily the handle is turned so as to clamp the wheel againsta shoulder on the shaft, so that both turn together. If desired,however, for any purpose-as in going downhill', or if the vehicle is tobe pushed or otherwise propelled without the action of the rider-asingle turn of the handle releases the wheel, so that the shaft becomesstationary. When locked, the handle of the device is arranged tocounterbalance the crank. When released, the weight of the handleprevents its turning with the wheel and unscrewing, as would be the casewith an ordinary nut.

I prefer to lock only one wheel to the shaft, if there be twodriving-wheels, as the vehicle can then more easily make short turns,during which one of the wheels has a tendency to turn backward while theother turns forward.

Figs. V and VI illustrate a form of antifric tion bearing that I preferto employ. The journal-box 30 (shown open in Fig.V) is bolted orotherwise secured to the frame 2. y It consists of a cylindricalcasting, the shaft 10 passing through the center. rIhe shaft iscompletely encircled by anti-friction rollers 31, placed loosely in thebox 30. These rollers ICO IIC

IIS

are cylindrical, withrounded ends, to reduce the friction between themand the front and back of the box.

Itis obvious that the construction may be modified in particulars otherthan those pointed driving-shaft, and connections comprising a drivingrod or rods adj ustably connecting said scat and shaft, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination of the frame, the driv ing-shaft, the pivoted seatconnected with said shaft, as specified, andthe stationary foot-rest orplatform extending around the'sides of the frame, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination of the frame, the seat pivotally supported thereon,the driving-shaft, and operating connections between said seat andshaft, comprising a driving-rod having a number of grooves near the endand a retaining-spring, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the `frame, pivoted seat, driving-shaft,ratchet-wheel on said shaft, and driving mechanism comprising twotoothed rods connected with said seat and held in engagement with saidratchet-wheel on opposite sides thereof with yielding /or springpressure, the teeth on said rods being inclined in opposite directions,substantially as de, scribed.

7. The combination, with the driving-shaft, of a seat carried by anoscillating supporthaving two axes of oscillation and operatingmechanism connecting said seat and shaft, substantially as described.

8.111 a velocipede, the combination, with the drivingshaft and drivingmechanism for imparting motion thereto, of a driving-wheel and a lockingdevicecomprising a nut and handle for securing said wheel to said shaft,whereby the wheel may be rotated by said driving mechanism, and forreleasing said wheel from the shaft, whereby it may rotate inde`pendently of said mechanism, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CAMILLO KRAMER.

Witnesses:

ANDREW AMENDZ, JOHN ZwIoK.

